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Aptos

Burn

Aptos has approved a major overhaul of its tokenomics, introducing a set of rules designed to curb inflation and make <a href="https://x.com/search?q=%24APT&amp;src=cashtag_click" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$APT</a> structurally scarcer over time. The changes, pushed through community governance, mark a significant shift from the network's original model of uncapped token issuance.
<h2 id="hard-cap-lower-rewards-higher-fees">Hard Cap, Lower Rewards, Higher Fees</h2>
<cite>The Aptos network approved proposal AIP-140, a sweeping tokenomics overhaul that introduces a hard supply cap of 2.1 billion APT, slashes annual staking rewards nearly in half, and cranks gas fees up by a factor of ten.</cite><cite>Before AIP-140, there was no ceiling on how many tokens could ever exist.</cite><cite>The proposal passed almost unanimously, with 335.2 million APT voting in favor and only 1,500 opposed. Participation reached 39%, above the 35% quorum requirement, showing strong confidence in the new model.</cite>
<cite>Annual staking rewards dropped from 5.19% to 2.6%,</cite> nearly halving the new APT paid out to validators and delegators each year. <cite>Transaction costs on Aptos are now ten times higher than they were before the proposal, and 100% of collected gas gets permanently burned, removing tokens from circulation forever.</cite>
As of mid-September 2026, the network had burned roughly 1.8 million APT cumulatively since its mainnet launch in October 2022. That figure is expected to grow sharply as network activity scales.
<h2 id="locked-supply-and-the-path-to-deflation">Locked Supply and the Path to Deflation</h2>
<cite>The Aptos Foundation has permanently locked and staked 210 million APT from its own holdings, with those tokens never to be sold or distributed.</cite><cite>That represents 18% of the current circulating supply and 37% of the Foundation's original allocation at the time of mainnet launch.</cite>
<cite>Decibel, the Aptos fully on-chain perpetuals DEX, launched in February 2026. Every order, match, and cancel occurs on-chain, resulting in high transaction volume. At scale, Decibel could burn over 32 million APT annually.</cite>
<cite>The changes are designed to shift the network from an inflation-subsidized model built for early-stage growth toward one where supply declines and burns scale with actual network activity.</cite><cite>Once the 2.1 billion limit is reached, validators will rely primarily on transaction fees, a model that replicates the long-term logic of Bitcoin.</cite>
<cite>The four-year unlock cycle for initial investors and core contributors concludes in October 2026, which will reduce annualized supply unlocks by 60%,</cite> adding further tailwind to the deflationary case.
Sources: <a href="https://aptosnetwork.com/currents/aptos-tokenomics-update" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Aptos Foundation: Tokenomics Update (Official)</a> <a href="https://cryptobriefing.com/aptos-tokenomics-overhaul-hard-cap-burn/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Crypto Briefing: Aptos overhauls tokenomics with 10x gas fees and 2.1B APT hard cap</a> <a href="https://cryptonews.net/news/altcoins/32704265/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">CryptoNews: Aptos Overhauls Its Tokenomics With Supply Cap, Fee Hikes, and a Path to Deflation</a>

Aptos Targets Greater APT Scarcity With New Supply and Burn Rules

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